The South Bayview Bulldog

The Golden State Warriors fan who pushed Raptor Kyle Lowry during Game 3 of the NBA Finals has been identified by Axios as Mark Stevens, a minority owner in the team. Warriors officials confirmed to a reporter for The Athletic that Stevens was the man who shoved Lowry. The Warriors told reporter Shams Charania that Stevens will not attend any remaining NBA Finals games. In a statement, officials from the Warriors said they were “extremely disappointed in his actions” and apologized to Lowry — Global News

Facebook topics piling up comments Thursday range from the return of the Leslieville Hum to (yes) speeding in Leaside. As to the hum, one comment asserts that a likely cause is a “huge industrial vacuum in the Greenwood (TTC) yards (used) when they are repairing the tracks or track bed….cannot do it by digging due to all the wiring The transformer will be louder under heavier than normal load.” Just another advantage of streetcars one might say with muted sarcasm. As to Leaside speeding, a woman has posted a photo of the license plate of a car she says sped through the stop sign at Millwood and Bessborough at 60 km.  Shocking if true but there are many doubters and the thread seems to fall apart with recriminations. Lastly, Ann Brown’s Leaside Chit Chat has many readers commenting on a South Bayview Bulldog story about the Ford government’s directive that buildings at Bayivew and Eglinton should rise to 35 storeys.

Elsa Lessard at Battle of the Atlantic ceremony earlier this year

Codebreaker Elsa listened in on German U-boats

So many stories, so few years. But here’s Elsa Lessard, 94, a member of the Women’s Royal Canadian Navy Reserve (the Wrens) who tirelessly put in days and nights at a remote wireless hut on the Newfoundland coast during WWII. She and her sisters intercepted and translated German U-boat messages. The information was used to find and destroy the submarines. If Elsa got the same warning about secrecy as other women engaged in such work, she was told that if she ever broke her vow of silence she would be shot as a traitor.

Rider walk out of subway to Union Station/Julien Chagnon-Zimmerly

The aging Line One subway system was hit by a so-far unexplained disruption Wednesday which caused a train to lose contact with the third rail power source for the system. The incident occurred when the train became stuck in between Union and St. Andrew stations. TTC spokesperson Stuart Green said the train was heading from Union to St. Andrew after 1 p.m. when it suffered damage to the “shoes” on the bottom of each car that make contact with the electrified rail. A second train also has trouble but apparently did not become stranded. Passengers from a disabled rain walked out to Union Station with the help of the fire service. There were 54 aboard. No one was injured. The disruption was felt all along the subway system as passengers flooded the streets to find buses.

Passengers flooded streets/City News

Spray map as shown Wednesday by City

After a false alarm earlier in the week caused by weather the City says it will continue Gypsy Moth spraying by helicopter on Thursday and Friday mornings. It appears from the map that this means South Bayview locations will be effected only Thursday. Other areas of Toronto will apparently be sprayed Friday. The notice reads: “The weather seems to have finally cooperated with us and provided some ideal conditions in the coming days to apply the final treatments for the aerial spray for Gypsy Moth Control.

Thursday, June 6 for “Day 1” area.
Friday, June 7 for “Day 2” areas.
Consult the online map to see which areas are to be sprayed on which days

As before, aerial spraying is to occur between 5:30 A.M. – 7:30 A.M. on both mornings.
Once all areas have received their final scheduled treatments, no further spraying operations are to occur.

Premier Ford

Sunnybrook redevelopment — getting higher?

Steve Clark — minister of municipal affairs is from rural Leeds-Grenvlille-Thousands Islands

The Ontario government will make some changes to Toronto’s plan for midtown to allow for taller buildings with a specific reference to the corner of Bayview Ave. and Eglinton Ave. E. Municipal Affairs Minister Steve Clark told the Globe and Mail he’ll be sending changes to the City Wednesday They’ll include allowing high rise towers of 20 to 35 storeys at Bayview and Eglinton, location of the Leaside LRT station. Clark says City Hall’s midtown plan called for buildings to be no higher than eight storeys there. Mr. Clark, who represents the rural riding of Leeds-Grenville et al, is quoted as saying the changes are needed to leverage the province’s plan to spend billions on public transit. Speaking Wednesday the minister said: “It’s my intention today to modify Official Plan Amendments 405 and 406 to send a number of modifications back to the City to really reflect our government’s priorities,” Clark said. “We have to ensure that we have people living close to transit . . . people wanted us to intensify near major transit stations.”

BAYVIEW AND EGLINTON

In recent weeks, updated plans for the redevelopment at Sunnybrook Plaza showed heights of 16 and 11 storeys. It is not known if this limitation is related to underground water flow at the site. It is the scene of the former Cudmore Creek. The news seems in keeping with telegraphed plans for a development over the station on the southeast corner as referenced in The Bulldog recently. A seldom-mentioned redevelopment of the Metro Inc. site on the northwest corner of Bayview and Eglinton could well see towers built there. Many such high-rise buildings now sit on the site of the Bayview Village Shopping Centre at Bayview and Sheppard Ave.

WILD WEST FOR DEVELOPERS?

Mayor John Tory has said he was told of the rejection by the province via text message last night. Councillors Joe Cressy, Kristyn Wong-Tam and Mike Layton issued a joint statement saying work on the plan for downtown Toronto took seven years to complete, calling the province’s rejection the start of “Wild West for developers.” “This Government’s disrespect and outright contempt for the City of Toronto and Torontonians is unlike anything we have ever seen. It is not acceptable. We will not stand for it.” Below is a statement from Councillor Robinson on the decision. She cites crowding, sunlight, water capacity and infrastructure generally. School capacity is a frequently discussed concern.

Joe Cressy

Kristyn Wong Tam

Mike Layton

Film trucks, tents and gear lining Bayview from Millwood to Fleming this morning! 😳 @TOFilming_EM pic.twitter.com/kVRpdTBoXy

— SBayview (@SBayview) June 5, 2019

The Netflix drama being shot at Passion Fruits on Bayview Ave turns out to be an enormous production with vehicles lining the east side of Bayview from Millwood Rd. and Fleming Cres. As the City will no doubt say, the production industry brings millions of dollar to Toronto every year. Not a cent however compensates small businesses which will do zero trade Wednesday.

STREET TO BE CLOSED FOR PERIOD OF TIME

Police who have been hired by the production company say Bayview Ave will be closed at Millwood and Soudan/Fleming on at least two occasions for a short period to shoot a scene with gunshots (fake).

There’s growing pressure in the US to break up enormous Silicon Valley giants like Facebook, Apple, Google and Amazon. The power to do so is contained in legislation that, among other things was used to break up radio network NBC and the Bell System monopoly. Then, City News surveys online comment about the new TDSB dress code. Below that, it looks like Air Canada is bullying a young flyer because she wasn’t able to figure out a ticket fraud scam even though it took the airline 18 months to clue in. Lastly, will you be on time for work (etc) Thursday morning after the 9 p.m. Raptors game tonight?

NYPD cruiser on Bayview part of Netflix shoot at Passion Fruits

The Netflix scenes being shot Wednesday at Passion Fruits, 1537 Bayview Ave., are set in New York City. Tuesday night an armada of trucks and equipment arrived for shooting either overnight or during the day, or both. The NYPD police car outside Dollarama creates quite a novelty photo. New Netflix drama shot at Chen’s Passion Fruits on Bayview

A number of Leaside residents have started a petition to have the speed limit in the neighborhood reduced to 30 km/h on roads where it is now 40 km/h. It may be signed here. It is not specified which streets would be effected under this change but they might include Moore Ave. both east and west of Bayview Ave. where driving conditions differ on each. But few residential streets reasonably permit a speed of more than 30 km/h. The matter has been posted to Facebook where some residents seek to object. Others express a view often voiced by former Councillor Burnside that there is no solution to chronic careless speeding except enforcement on the scene.